Romneys approved to build beachfront mansion in California

October 11, 2013|Reuters

LOS ANGELES, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Former Republicanpresidential nominee Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, can demolishtheir beachfront home in a tony enclave near San Diego and builda larger 11,000-square-foot replacement, the California CoastalCommission ruled on Friday.

A neighbor of the Romneys had sought to block the project onthe grounds that the couple's property in La Jolla was too smallto justify a house of that size, under regulations determiningthe ratio between lot and house sizes, according to documentsbefore the commission.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was estimatedduring his 2012 presidential campaign to have a net worth of upto $250 million.

The Coastal Commission voted 7-4 at a meeting in San Diegoto deny the appeal and allow the project to go forward, saidSarah Christie, spokeswoman for the panel.

The Romneys' neighbor had contended the couple had wronglyclaimed a sandy beach area as part of their property to winapproval for a larger house than they would otherwise be allowedto build, the commission report said.

Coastal Commissioner Greg Cox said the Romneys' proposedhouse will not be "intrusive or blocking the views that peoplehave right now," according to a report from the City NewsService.

The couple's current house in La Jolla measures 3,100 squarefeet (288 square meters), Christie said. The planned home isapproaching three times the size of the existing home, and willhave two stories and a basement.